Abstract

Capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) are proficient tool users, and the use of stone tools occurs in several populations, mostly to crack open encased foods. Two well-studied Brazilian populations of Sapajus libidinosus inhabit Fazenda Boa Vista and Serra da Capivara National Park and present different behavioral sets regarding tool use. Serra das Confusões National Park (SCoNP) lies between those sites, but little is known about the capuchin monkey population that lives there. To begin unraveling the capuchin behavior in this area, we conducted a brief survey for tool use sites. We found indirect evidence that capuchin monkeys at SCoNP use stone hammers to crack open at least four species of seeds and fruits. Plant reproductive parts there are processed with stone tools in a similar pattern to the other sites. Further study is needed to directly observe tool use by capuchin monkeys at SCoNP, verify the occurrence of other possible types of tool use in this population, and thus fully compare their tool use repertoire to that of other populations.

Ferreira RG, Emidio RA, Jerusalinsky L (2010) Three stones for three seeds: natural occurrence of selective tool use by capuchins (Cebus libidinosus) based on an analysis of the weight of stones found at nutting sites. Am J Primatol 72:270–275. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.20771CrossRefPubMedGoogle Scholar